....my brother in-law purchased a laptop (Acer 5315-2153) from a friend that needed some money. I took it home to check it out. The friend claimed that he had it wiped clean, and it's virtually pretty clean.....but here's my issue.

I can't uninstall the AVG antivirus and install the Avast that I want to use. That's not the REAL issue, but it appears that someone (obviously before my brother in-law has a counterfeit operating system on here. There's a constant message on the computer that says: "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation." It currently has Windows XP on it.

Will installing Windows 7 wipe the whole computer clean, or should I format the harddrive prior to installing Windows 7? I guess that's my real issue/question. There's really nothing on the computer that needs to be backed up as my brother in-law never really used it.

Basically, I want to start the computer over from scratch with Windows 7.

....my brother in-law purchased a laptop (Acer 5315-2153) from a friend that needed some money. I took it home to check it out. The friend claimed that he had it wiped clean, and it's virtually pretty clean.....but here's my issue.

I can't uninstall the AVG antivirus and install the Avast that I want to use. That's not the REAL issue, but it appears that someone (obviously before my brother in-law has a counterfeit operating system on here. There's a constant message on the computer that says: "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation." It currently has Windows XP on it.

Will installing Windows 7 wipe the whole computer clean, or should I format the harddrive prior to installing Windows 7? I guess that's my real issue/question. There's really nothing on the computer that needs to be backed up as my brother in-law never really used it.

Basically, I want to start the computer over from scratch with Windows 7.

Later.

If there's nothing that needs to be saved, is there anything else that's giving you pause about starting from factory conditions? Seems like just the safest option to me, rather than risk a smart-bug being hidden in there somewhere that cold come back to bite your b-i-l in the butt.

If there's nothing that needs to be saved, is there anything else that's giving you pause about starting from factory conditions? Seems like just the safest option to me, rather than risk a smart-bug being hidden in there somewhere that cold come back to bite your b-i-l in the butt.

No, not really.....other than the fact that I do not have the Windows 7 just yet. Once I get that, I'll start over from factory settings.

No, not really.....other than the fact that I do not have the Windows 7 just yet. Once I get that, I'll start over from factory settings.

Right click on C Drive, click 'Format', right?

Smart-bug?

Later.

Formatting the drive just kind of tidies thing up (it's like the difference between straightening your house & cleaning your house). If you're trying to start from scratch, you'll want to do a system recovery, which will reset everything to factory settings. I found a thread HERE where another guy needed help doing the same thing with his ACER 5315. They talk a little about the difference between a system restore (going back to an early OK point) & a recovery (back to factory), as well as the process for both.

And by smart bug I just meant a virus which may have been coded to kind lie low & get missed by the standard "fixes" so it could pop out later to jerk you around.

Uhhhh....if a bug is that smart enough (e.g. rootkits), the recover may not protect you from existing viruses. It's a gamble, but a good one. If you are really considering installing Win7, then don't waste effort and frustration on the Recover/Restore/rewind routine.

First, if the computer is more than a few years old, you'll wanna make sure it can handle Windows 7. There was a Vista compatibility hardware checker that came out, or just look up the system requirements for Vista/7. (Win7 is really just a huge fix to Vista. The version number is 6.1.) Under XP, you can see the processor speed and memory size by right clicking on the (My) Computer icon, or in the menu, & selecting Properties (or the System control panel). But, that won't tell you if the video card is up to snuff. Good luck.

Formatting a hard drive is NOT just tidying up a few things. It erases the data so that it's gone. Maybe Ben was thinking of "defragmenting," which is unrelated to your question.

Wait until you get your Win7 installation disk. When installing, you'll have the option to format the drive (and re-partition). That'll delete all the data and software (like Office). You'll lose everything. Don't get an upgrade, get a full. You can get an "OEM" disk from Newegg. They're a little cheaper, but you become your own support.

For software removal, check out Revo Uninstaller. AVG shouldn't be that sticky. As far as the piracy warning, that may be accurate, but may be not. There was a short-lived bug (an error, not a virus) a couple years ago where that warning came up as a false alarm. Basically, if the computer has it's windows license sticker on it (and it isn't all rubbed off), you can run a validation wizard and put the 25-character code in again--if it's even a real code. Search for how.

No, not really.....other than the fact that I do not have the Windows 7 just yet. Once I get that, I'll start over from factory settings.

Right click on C Drive, click 'Format', right?

Smart-bug?

Later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VCURamFan

Formatting the drive just kind of tidies thing up (it's like the difference between straightening your house & cleaning your house). If you're trying to start from scratch, you'll want to do a system recovery, which will reset everything to factory settings. I found a thread HERE where another guy needed help doing the same thing with his ACER 5315. They talk a little about the difference between a system restore (going back to an early OK point) & a recovery (back to factory), as well as the process for both.

And by smart bug I just meant a virus which may have been coded to kind lie low & get missed by the standard "fixes" so it could pop out later to jerk you around.

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